5 Ways People Made Playing Games WAY Harder

There's a reason that I run video game reviews under the label "Reviews for the Lazy Gamer." When it comes to playing games, I like to win. I usually hang out on low difficulty settings because I don't deal with frustration well and can't afford to replace a broken controller after I've thrown it. It may be kind of a sissy thing to do, but I've seen the ending of Ninja Gaiden and Road Runner Death Valley Rally without a Game Genie, so I feel like I've put in my hours in the challenge department.

Some gamers, though, they not only like to do things the hard way, they like to invent whole new hard ways. I mean, games are already set up in direct opposition to your winning, and these folks decide to stack the deck so high against themselves that the phrase "the game is cheating" might actually be applicable.

Which makes the rewards all the more sweet. I guess.

Final Fantasy IX Excalibur II Perfect Game

The most powerful sword in Final Fantasy IX is the Excalibur II, which as you would expect is better than the Excalibur. Video game swords apparently follow the Godfather rules of sequels as opposed to the House Party rules. The weapon boasts the highest attack power in the game, 108, and adds the Holy element to boot. It is the ultimate sword, and acquiring it involves getting almost to the very end of the game in 12 hours or less, then looking behind a specific pillar. Any longer and the sword won't be there.

That's not really that hard, especially if you know how to skip the two hours of cut scenes by opening the cover of the Playstation, but then there is the Perfect Game challenge.

To have the perfect game implies that you've collected every single item in the game (In some cases, enough of each item for each character). That's formidable because there are 41 missable items that become unavailable by the time you reach the end of the game on Disc 4. The rest you can get afterwards. Then, just to make it even more insane was born the idea of perfect stats.

You gain top stats by leveling up with attribute-boosting equipment. The best equipment for this purpose is only available at the end of the game, but by then you have likely reached at least level 50 and won't have as many levels left to boost on before you cap at 99. Not in the perfect stat challenge. The goal there is to forgo all experience point accumulation and stay at level one using very select methods of beating enemies with petrify or other methods that don't net experience until Disc 4 when you're faced with four enemies where there is no other way of avoiding the experience.

As mind-numbing as this sounds, the 93 videos on that playlist up there prove it's doable in the 12-hour time limit. Or you can read an insanely detailed FAQ on the subject here if you want to try it for yourself.